JIMI HENDRIX 10 things he gave to us

Exactly 50 years since Hendrix’s passing, John Wheatcroft shines a light on the guitar hero’s guitar hero, with 23 top players adding their thoughts on why and how Jimi was so stunning!

Learn 10 of Hendrix’s trademarks then play two great solos (psychedelic pop & slow blues). Plus: hear what 23 top players say about Jimi.

Jimi Hendrix will go down in history as one of the most significant musicians of the 20th century. Even today, 50 years after his death, his influence is still profoundly felt. For many he was the ultimate electric guitarist. Hendrix was a musical visionary, a virtuoso, and an incendiary live performer (literally), accomplished songwriter and a skilled wordsmith. He was perceived as a social and cultural icon, lauded by both music fans and by his not insubstantial peers.

Jimi’s playing was bold, hip, at times brutal and at times sophisticated. Super creative, very, very loud, and incredibly exciting for any guitarist around at the time when Jimi exploded on the scene. And that included most of the members of the UK’s rock elite such as Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and The Beatles. It’s safe to say that once people had heard and seen him play then their perception of what the guitar was capable of was irrevocably altered.

Jimi’s lead playing was explosive, bold and beautiful, with his flamboyant style perfectly suited to the new sounds of the day. While guitarists had used these effects before, no one player had so completely assimilated these new sounds in such a compelling and cohesive package. Fuzz, wah, feedback, whammy bar dives, sirens and wails, reverse guitar, echo, stereo panning and phasing. It’s all there on the few studio albums he released in just a four-year flurry of creativity as a band leader, before his tragic and wasteful death on 18th september 1970, aged just 27.

His groundbreaking rhythm playing saw him expertly mix Chicago blues with hard rock, funk with jazz, and even R&B was given the psychedelic once-over. It’s perfectly clear that to Hendrix it was all just music, and any genre was fair game for Jimi’s magical touch. Frequently blurring the distinction between lead and rhythm, Hendrix had the ability to connect chords, melody and even bass parts together to create a huge sound that was both powerful and sophisticated in equal measure.

The following musical examples divide into three main sections. First we have a collection of 10 short musical excerpts that typify a specific approach that Jimi might employ, ranging from ‘exchange’ and ‘unison’ bending techniques, to the use of hammer-ons, wah-wah and Uni-vibe effects. We’re not forgetting rhythm guitar too, so you’ll also find embellished chords, switching between bass and treble parts using the thumb to fret notes and Major slash chords. A pair of extended solos follows, the first based around a psychedelic pop groove, while the second features Jimi’s playing in full-on blues mode.

So, although this is undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg, in reality, and with no space or time restrictions, live Jimi would milk each idea for all it’s worth, stretching a single concept or theme across a whole chorus, or even two, or return to a theme stated at the beginning of a solo several minutes later.

Thematic development, stamina, pacing and building your solos without running out of ideas are all crucial skills to be developed in conjunction with all the other technical and theoretical stuff presented here. So make sure you supplement your playing with a dose of serious listening and analysis.

JIMI WOULD MILK EACH IDEA FOR ALL IT’S WORTH, STRETCHING A SINGLE CONCEPT ACROSS A WHOLE CHORUS, OR TWO, OR RETURN TO A THEME MINUTES LATER